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Do you prefer equipment (such as the Powerdrain, Bubble Shield, Health Regenerator etc. from Halo 3), or Armor Abilities (such as Sprint, Jetpack, Invisiblilty etc. from Halo Reach)?

can 343 bring back halo 3 and 4 armor customization and the rest of halo 4 armor ODST, mark 5, and prefect AND the armor abilities THATS ALL THIS GAME NEEDS!

I see this posted pretty much everywhere: "Halo needs to go back to its roots. Take out sprint and armor abilities." I don't really want to argue about whether or not sprint should be in the game because I mostly think it's a really dumb argument. It's more realistic to sprint and to some having more realism is more important than having the type of gameplay we did without sprint. There is no right answer once again it's just people's opinion. Armor abilties however...I don't like their current implementation either but I believe they have a place in the game. A core gameplay element of Halo has been racing to weapons/power-ups on the map. I'm not sure if Halo started this kind of gameplay but I know that games even today adapt this mechanic (battlefield 4). It's a really fun and rewarding mechanic. Whether or not Halo started this mechanic I would argue that it is essential to Halo, just like no ADS. Having no ADS may seem stupid and to be honest it kind of is but without it I believe the way Halo plays would just change too much. Besides the spartan's have H.U.D which allows them to hipfire accuratley with the center reticle. I think that armor abilties should be in the game but I think that they should be severley limited compared to their current frequency. I think that 1, 2 at most armor abilities should be pick-up-able objects on the map. This way you can give armor abilties more purpose by making them essential to finding power weapons/items. For example a Banshee may only be accessable by a jet-pack. I think the issue with armor abilties is their frequency. It sucks to have to be constantly shooting desperatley upwards at people who don't know how to use jetpacks stuck miles in the sky spraying their assault rifles down at you while the rest of the team is wreslting you from behind with armor lock or zipping around you with evade. It's just a ******* mess. I don't want multiplayer to be a mess. How do you clean it up? Limit the crazy **** that players can do and give each crazy thing a clearly defined purpose. I admire 343i's effort to take multiplayer to the next level. However, giving players a bunch of crazy abilties that they can spam doesn't help making the game more fun to play. It just makes it a giant mess as I said above. So, we can have armor abilties....just make them infrequent and pick-up-able on the map. Thoughts?

Speculations have been running around for a long time if Armor Abilities will be making a return in Halo 5 and in the Halo 5: Guardians teaser trailer at E3 today it said "All new Spartan Abilities", this lead to further assumption that this caption meant Armor Abilities and therefore they will be returning. But Frank O'Connor (aka Stinkles on Neogaf) responded to a concerned user refarding Armor Abilities. Frank O'connor confirmed that Armor Abilities would not be making a return and that "Spartan Abilities" does not mean Armor Abilities but they are feature like being able to hijack vehicles. "Not thrilled that armor abilities seem to be making a return." Frank replies "They aren't. The wording is confusing but it means. "features". Using h2 as an example, new features would have been dual wielding and boarding." So Armor Abilities are not making a return in Halo 5: Guardians, could this be the beginning of Halo going back to it's old roots again? Are you happy or unhappy to hear the confirmation of Armor Abilities not making a return? Source: neogaf.com View full article

Well, many people are claiming about Armor Abilities; and I think AA annoying sometimes too. But I don't think fair to get rid of it but changing or upgrading it. - AA should be replaced by PE (Personnel Equipments). It pretends to work like an individual "weapon", almost like "buffs" in Halo 3 (invisibility, overshield, etc.). but like solid equipments to wear instead "magic balls". So the PE can be found around the map, preferably at some armory house. So the equipments to wear should be a jetpack, promethean eyeglass, fuel for thruster, chip to engage invisibility, etc. - Also it would have BS (Battle Support). It pretends to be similar or equal to the bubble shield, health regenerate and power swallow (I'm sorry, I don't now how it named). Well, it should be some thing like a "special grenades", when it's thrown it make whose effect. Well, it's only to get back what was at Halo 3.

Here are some ideas i dreamed up for halo 5 Halo 5 weapons and vehicles: UNSC Vehicles: -Warthog •Gauss •Rocket •Chain Gun -Mongoose -Scorpion -Mantis -Viper (Light assault aircraft) •Equipped with heat seeking missiles and light machine gun •Highly maneuverable (on the level of the banshee), weak armor -Hornet -Falcon • Assault (has a front mounted chain gun which can be controlled by the pilot as well as two .50 cal door guns, can carry 2 passengers who can shoot their personal weapons) • Light (door guns only, can carry 2 passengers who can shoot their personal weapons) -Pelican (Heavy Transport aircraft) •Pilot controlled forward heavy auto cannon • equipped with 2 .50 caliber door guns on back. Can hold up to 8 personnel who can shoot their personal weapons •contain two small arms racks in cargo area UNSC weapons: -Magnum -SMG •can be used as a sidearm -Battle Rifle -DMR -Assault rifle -SSMG •the silenced SMG from ODST -Frag grenade -SAW •buffed H4 version -Grenade Launcher •fires projectiles similar to the sticky detonator that will explode on contact or await detonation depending on firing mode(Utilizes a 3 round magazine) -Spartan Laser •similar to the reach version -Sniper Rifle -Rocket Launcher •Fires two types of rockets, Anti-personnel rockets (which appear green on your HUD) are unguided and deal high splash damage, while anti-vehicle rockets (blue on your HUD) track ALL vehicles and have high penetrative power, dealing twice the damage against vehicles. -Railgun •Halo 4 version -Heavy Railgun •One hit kill on ANYTHING, including pelicans(comes with 1 extra round and takes 5 seconds to charge and fire) -Hyper Rifle • 3 shot kill, low ROF • battery operated, batter holds energy for 36 shots • emits high intensity atom laser Detachable Turrets: -Machine gun -Flamethrower Emplacements: -Rocket Turret •Fires volleys of 4 rockets, rockets become guided when the operator enters first person mode and looks through the emplacements holographic optics. Range 1000m -Gauss Turret • Identical to the turret mounted on the back of a warthog -Mortar Turret •Starts with a target locator, the player who acquires the locator can use it to call in mortar fire anywhere on the map. • locator creates a red circle around its target and sticks to objects, including vehicles and personnel. •Mortar fires 3 rounds volleys, each round yielding the power of 2 antipersonnel rockets. Covenant Weapons: -Plasma Pistol -Plasma Rifle -Storm Rifle -Needler -Needle Rifle -Covenant Carbine -Assault Carbine • 5 shot kill, fires particle beam with extreme accuracy at extreme range • low rate of fire -Beam Rifle -Concussion rifle -Fuel Rod Cannon -Plasma Launcher • identical to the one in reach but with a longer range -Energy Sword -Plasma Grenade Covenant Vehicles: -Ghost (reach version) -Banshee (reach version) -Wraith -Revenant -Spectre • holds 2 passengers, 1 gunner, 1 driver • equipped with 1 dual barreled plasma cannon, the same as that of the banshee -Phantom (Heavy troop transport) • equipped with 1 forward rapid fire concussion cannon which is controlled by the pilot, as well as 2 door mounted light plasma cannons • Capable of carrying 8 personnel who can fire their personnel weapons •Contains 2 small arms crates in cargo area Turrets: -Plasma turret Emplacements: -Plasma cannon shade •Identical to the one in reach but with higher projectile speeds -Fuel rod shade • like the ones in the reach campaign • Firing homing fuel rods rounds that tracks land and air vehicles Brute Weapons: -Spiker -Brute shot -Mauler -Brute plasma rifle (halo 2 version) -Gravity hammer -Napalm grenades (halo 3 version) -Spike grenades Brute vehicles: -Chopper Armor abilities: -Jetpack -Thruster pack (buffed h4 version) -Active Camo -Evade -Berserk • allows users a brief burst of extreme speed once their shields are removed (like the h2/h3 brutes) -Regen Field -Stability • allows player to remain scoped in while taking fire -Thermal • shows players and vehicles in bright red/white, terrain is darker blue. • Residual heat signatures will reveal enemies hiding around corners by slightly brightening the air next to the corner (YOU CANNOT SEE THROUGH WALLS) Equipment: -Anti vehicle Mine •Fits into a slot on your HUD next to the grenade slots, destroys warthogs in one hit as well as personnel -Bubble shield •remains active until destroyed -EMP field •Immobilizes vehicles and SLOWY drains shields within a 20m radius You may notice that i left out forerunner weapons and vehicles, that is because (in my opinion) the forerunners are utterly boring and annoying to fight. I would love to see the brutes return as a sort of pirate like rouge faction in halo 5, possibly attempting to invade and take control of a weakened Sanghelios which we must defend alongside the arbiter. In addition, many of the vehicles i listed are only plausible if used in a 16 vs 16 or 32 vs 32 playlist (such as the pelican and phantom) which will hopefully be possible with the processing power of the next gen xbox.

Imagine the UNSC unlocks Forerunner secrets related to the Flood/Prometheans, and works on creating a next gen Spartan. I am not saying we would play as this next gen, we would still be master chief. These next gens would perhaps eventually become the enemy as they could (possibly) be controlled by the Hive Mind? Anyway, in my mind there would be several cast off hybrids that would escape and be part of the larger Flood threat, but more to the point, The next gen soldiers would have specific Armor Abilities. If you can think of some Flood-based armor abilities, share them here. Here are a few I have thought of, and I will share more as I think of them: Flood Sense: With this ability you would have enhanced audio reception, which could come in handy where Promethean vision can not detect Flood Strength: Enhanced strength with heavy items (moving/lifting/throwing), meles, etc. Flood Jump: Just as it says. Flood Regen: Able to heal more quickly from damage, or revive dead players (who were not head shot or blown to dust). This is kind of a take off from Battlefield med packs and defibrillator. Med packs help damaged players heal faster, and a player carrying the defibrillator can revive dead of unconscious players. Share some of your thoughts/ideas! Crim

Most people think that Hologram can't be improved any more than it already is. But I've been thinking a lot about this. The thing I don't like the most about Hologram is the fact that it simply travels in a straight line. I thought of being able to choose which way it goes using the D-pad, but that would be too complicated. The solution is this: the Hologram will mirror your last movements. I'm not sure how long Hologram lasts, but for example if it lasts 15 seconds, have it mirror the previous actions/path you took from 15 seconds before you activate it. Thoughts?

Below is the complete list what is available to use in your custom loadouts. Read below for more details From: http://www.littleenglishhaloblog.com/ By: FlawlessCowboy Thanks to we now know all of the Weapons, Grenades, Armour Abilities, Tactical Packages and Support Upgrades that will make up our Loadouts in Halo 4. Many of these abilities and upgrades will not be available at the start of the game and will need to be unlocked using Spartan Points, nevertheless, here is the complete list: Primary Weapons • Battle Rifle • Assault Rifle • DMR • Carbine • Storm Rifle • Suppressor • Light Rifle Secondary Weapons • Magnum • Plasma Pistol • Bolt shot Grenades • Frag Grenade • Plasma Grenade • Pulse Grenade Armor Abilities Thruster Pack Enables a powerful burst of movement allowing the ability to evade or quickly close the gap. Promethean Vision Allows users to predict enemy signatures through walls and other hard surfaces. Hologram Allows users to generate an almost identical holographic decoy to to deceive enemies during combat. Jet Pack Allows users limited flight through a vertical lift propulsion system similar to that of EVA re-entry packs. Hard Light Shield Allows users to a protective barrier of hard light which stops most small arms fire and some explosives. Active Camouflage Allows users to generate a visual effect astonishingly close to invisibility. Auto-Sentry An automatic turret which can be deployed to defend its user or command a key battlefield choke-point. Regeneration Field Allows the user to release a short-range energy field that heals any nearby spartans. Tactical Packages Mobility Allows unlimited sprint. Shielding Speeds up your armors recharge rate. Resupply Allows the recovery of grenades from fallen allies or foes. AA Efficiency Increases the rate at which energy recharges for armor abilities Grenadier Increases grenade carrying capacity. Firepower Allows the use of a primary weapon in the secondary weapon slot. Fast-track Allows the user to advance quicker in rank. Requisition In modes with personal ordnance, requisition lets the player request new choices when an ordnance is granted. Wheelman Increases the long term durability of your vehicle as well as how it reacts to EMP charges. Support Upgrades Stability Steadies your weapon while being struck by incoming fire. Ammo Increases ammunition capacity for both starting weapons and ordnance drops. Dexterity Speeds up reload and weapon swapping. Sensor Increases motion sensor range. Awareness Allows the use of motion sensors while using a scope. Explosives Alters grenade performance, increasing blast radius and decreasing grenade damage received. Ordnance Priority In modes with personal ordnance, offers more frequent ordnance drops to the user. Gunner Increases how long a mounted weapon can fire before overheating as well as movement speed with detached turrets. Wetworks Allows Spartans to Sprint quietly. They also appear as an outline to players using Promethean Vision and perform quicker assassinations. View full article

I'll start off by saying that I've been a fan of the franchise since Halo: Combat Evolved, and that I'm currently studying game design. These are my impressions of Halo 4 so far after spending roughly five or more hours snapping up every tid-bit of information on the net and from E3. I'm going to focus on the things I DON'T like, there are a lot of things I'm excited for about Halo 4 including Campaign, Spartan Ops, the fact that they brought the BR back into the sandbox, etc. Please realise that I'm writing this for the love of Halo. ARMOUR ABILITIES should be removed, or toned down. They slow down the gameplay too much, they imbalance the gameplay, they're unnecessary for a fun, engaging experience and most importantly they go against the core principle of halo gameplay, that everyone has the same abilities (when I say that, I'm talking about moving, shooting, reloading, jumping, etc.) and everyone starts off a match on equal footing. I'll go into a bit of detail about the new armour abilities and why I think they're unnecessary. -Promethean Vision, the radar is a classic Halo staple, and gives players everything they need in terms of player detection. Seeing through walls also focuses the player on visual detection too much and detracts from the simply awe inspiring sound engine that's been in every Halo. -Active Camo, not sure if this has actually made the cut or if it's coming back as a powerup from an ordnance drop, in which case I wouldn't have too many problems with it. But in it's armour ability form, active camo slows down gameplay A LOT, promotes camping and is activated too often, making radar redundant. -Hardlight Shield, for those that don't know is Halo 4's version of armour lock (what I like to think of as the spanner-in-the-works of Reach) and appears like a riot shield. It's much more toned down than armour lock however most of the same problems remain. It promotes defensive gameplay, ergo slowing down gameplay, and makes 2v1 situations (traditionally always an interesting dynamic where the underdog always has that chance for the double) untenable for the lone player. It is also far too useful in team situations where focus firing should be rewarded as an active component of gameplay and is instead punished by the press of one button. -Thrusterpack is implemented like a toned down version of evade from Halo: Reach. It detracts from the gameplay because it makes grenade placement and aiming redundant when combined with the new grenade indicator (just like the jetpack did in Reach) ergo slowing down gameplay, it promotes double bashing, it makes close combat weapons like the sword and the Promethean shotgun overpowered as players are able to rapidly close distance between targets, it makes escaping far too easy and thus promotes elusive playstyles, slowing down gameplay even more. -Hologram, from what I've seen it seems to be implemented the same as it was in Halo: Reach and the same problems remain, it doesn't really add anything to the gameplay as players will use it EVERY fight, it's possible for it to trick a skilled player but most of the time it's just a small irritant, therefore it's unnecessary. -Jetpack (I really hope this doesn't make the cut) it has all the same problems as thrusterpack with the added problem of having to make all maps abuse-proof and an unhealthy redundancy of power weapons like the rocket and sword. PERKS are not as bad as armour abilities, but still unnecessary. They also go against that main tenet of core halo gameplay. SPRINT, sprint is unnecessary because; 1. Halo has never needed sprint to produce dynamic, fast, fun and engaging gameplay. 2. It rewards players for playing elusively, thus slowing down gameplay. For example it makes the important positional gameplay of Halo 2 and 3 redundant because players can high tail it out of situations with sprint that they should really be punished for entering. 3. It makes close combat weapons like the sword overpowered. 4. It promotes double bashing. The RANKING AND EXPERIENCE SYSTEM of Halo: Reach that rewards mindless playing. I'm not against an exp system that gives unlocks and shows how much a player has played in a holistic sense, but I'm more of the mind that it NEEDS to take second place next to a WORTHWHILE RANK that accurately displays a player's LEVEL OF SKILL. RANKED PLAYLISTS should not be thrown in the same category as "social" playlists like the Arena in Halo: Reach. It should have it's own category to make it seem worthwhile and important and encourage players to try it out. This was one of the main reasons the Arena in Reach is a wasteland, along with the fact that the rank attained in the Arena isn't visible outside that playlist. If armour abilities, perks, loadouts and unlocks absolutely must be in Infinity Slayer, then so be it, but RANKED PLAYLISTS should NOT have these, they should remain a more pure, traditional halo experience that I'm confident 343 can deliver. BLOOM is another major element that ruined Halo; Reach for me, it introduced far too much luck. Rather than promoting skilful shooting as it was intended, it rewards players that spam the trigger and get lucky with the bullet-spread at the more common encounter ranges. From what I've seen and heard, bloom isn't as major an issue in Halo 4 as it was in Reach but I'd like to see it removed and have distance dps modifiers implemented in a different fashion. tl;dr To sum up, and continue, SUGGESTIONS FOR HALO 4. -Remove armour abilities from the game, if they must be in, give them a long cool-down, for example 60- seconds, so that they're only usable in every 4th or more encounter rather than every encounter. OR, simply have them in a separate playlist from everything else. -Remove Sprint, Bloom and Perks from the game. -Ranked playlists separate from "social", without armour abilities, perks, bloom and with fixed loadouts. -Ranks attained in ranked playlists that are worthwhile, accurate, and given a priority on a player's gamer card in-game. -Maps to bring back from the franchises' past (me faves) Guardian, The Pitt and Sanctuary. Although I love a lot more, there's no point listing everything. -A no-scope medal! Thanks for reading.

While arguing in another thread it occurred to me what went wrong with the introduction of Armor Abilities. AA's were envisioned as the follow up to previous Halo's equipment and Power Ups. But those things had been "power ups". They conferred an advantage on purpose. Where Reach went wrong was trying to apply things which were meant to make you more powerful in such a way as to make everyone equally powerfull. In Halo 3 the Bubble Shield is not meant to match Active Camo. It is not supposed to be a level playing field. In Reach, Bungie tried to modify all these preexisting things than throw in some new ones without making an effort to make the different AA's balance each other Rock,Paper,Scissors style. So the core problem is trying to adapt things which are inherently asymmetrical in gameplay terms to be symmetrical, and the result of this contradictory approach is you get AA's which are either lame knockoffs of previous versions (Active Camo) or Overpowered (Armor Lock). And this says another thing about the future of Halo...if 343 makes an armor customization system which changes peoples abilities but is not necessarily the Armor abilities of Reach, it doesnt have to have the same problems because rather than trying to adapt things which are inherently unbalanced to be balanced, 343 will likely be starting off from a point of "what little changes can we give people to customize themselves while remaining balanced?".

Heres a bit of a rant about two arguments I am always reading. 1) "But that's not Halo!" -Traditionalist Halo player complaining about changes. 2) "Adapt" -Progressive Halo player complaining about people complaining about changes. Neither argument means much of anything because neither argument really says much of anything about the nature of the change being made. The first argument isn't as bad because there are a few cases when it actually applies...for example, I personally don't think the perk system in Call of Duty detracts from Call of Duty but it certainly does not belong in Halo, so I guess its okay to say "But that's not Halo!" but then (for example) when people talk about something like universal sprint or 1st person vehicles, people say "but that's not Halo!". Yeah...its not Halo because it hasn't been in Halo. Might as well say Brutes "aren't Halo" (before Halo 2) or Forge isn't Halo (before Halo 3). What I'm wondering is what is this strange intangible "Halo-ness" which we are comparing these new elements to? Then you get people saying "adapt", like when talking about changes in Reach. This is even worse than the previous argument because at least saying something wasn't Halo was making some sort of value judgement about something...with "adapt" we could be talking about any change in the book and the progressive Halo player might blindly insist that the change is for the best and that we should blindly keep singing the particular Halo game (and its developers) praises even though people might very well know in their heart of hearts that the new element is at best neutral in terms of improving the game and at worst completely stupid. Point is, the community should just judge a particular element by its own merits, not based on a need to freeze Halo as it currently is, or to deceive yourself into thinking that the last Halo is as good or better than the last.

ADD: 1. The Minor Armor customization (preferably more than what Reach had) and armor color: Primary, Secondary AND armor detail Bright, Very visual lighting like in Halo 3 Equipment, they were much more balanced than armor abilities Halo 3 grenades, the ones in Reach were way too powerful New vehicles, a flyable Pelican or other new vehicles would be cool Some of the old Halo 3 Maps like Guardian, The Pitt, and Valhalla 2. The Major More customs games like in Halo 3, customs were what kept Halo 3 great for such a long time Forge, bring back the forge heavens that were Foundry and Sandbox, and I would like to see decorative objects like in H3 and not just structural Firefight, gameplay and maps like in ODST, custom options like in Reach IMPORTANT: The music chanting in Halo 2, H2 music captivating and perfectly conveyed the epic struggle over Halo. I remember the first Halo I ever played (Halo 2) At the main menu listening this track play () I didn't even need to play, I knew this was going to be something great Multiplayer just like Halo 3, not the randomness of Reach DON'T ADD: Any armor abilities EXCEPT sprint Reticle bloom The DMR (the new BR is all we need) Health

I hated the armor abilities in reach.. i think it ruined the name of halo.. when i played reach it didnt even feel like i was playing halo... just put it back like halo3 where you have to pick up power drain,bubbleshield. overshield, camo etc... i just hope that this halo is better than reach..

Custom loadouts are in halo 4 but there hasn't been any detail into how much they are going to affect the gameplay. Is it going to be like cod where you get to pick from a large list of starting weapons and perks or is it going to be like reach where you just get a few different abilities? This is what I want. I want to customize between a few starting weapons. BR DMR Pistol SMG AR and maybe a few new starting weapons. Things I would like to be able to customize. Scope, fire rate vs fire power, range vs accuracy, silencers Other than that I feel like weapon customization would change the feel of halo too much Armor customization I don't want the look of armor to affect what it does. If there are perks I would like them to be layered. I would like three categories. Movement, power, special. Movement would be things like increased sprint speed, invisible on radar, jump, things that would affect how you travel the map Power would be things like increased meele power/range, extra shield, exta gun power, things that would affect how you fight Special would be things like bonuses for harder types of kills, reduce sensitivity during sniping, scavenger, bling, pointing out the last person who killed you, smaller things that would be able to be used for special purposes. The last thing is Emblems Halo has had great emblems but Black Ops beat it. halo should be able to design your own emblems with a ban system so people who make ***** emblems have to choose from a predetermined set like in past halo titles These are my thoughts what do you think of them? And what are yours?

Personally, i think they should. If you think about it, armor abilities are just improved equipment. Active camo=Active camo. kinda obvious. Jet pack=portable grav lift Drop shield=bubble shield armor lock=deployable cover (Now it sucks. Thanks 343!) Active camo=radar jammer Armor lock=invincibility Regenerator=drop shield The only things left out are Auto turret, flare, and trip mine. Personally, I could not live without at the very least: Sprint, Active camo, jet pack, evade, drop shield and hologram. Maybe armor lock for vehicles. Derp face